Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora addressed the elephant in the room… or the first baseman playing shortstop, after Wednesday’s lineups were posted ahead of their matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park.
With so many players hurt heading to the second game of a three-game set against the Blue Jays, Cora was forced to get creative. The most eye-popping aspect of the Red Sox’s unique lineup is where Bobby Dalbec is playing as he will get the first start of his career at shortstop.
“Cora says Dalbec played a lot on the left side in the shift, so Sox decided to go that route,” The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier tweeted.
When asked who was on the bench, Cora told reporters: “(Bench coach Will Venable), myself… This is where we’re at. We’re thin.”
Dalbec is surprisingly athletic for his size and was drafted as a third baseman, so he’ll be more than capable of handling the shortstop role in an emergency role. With Xander Bogaerts dealing with back spasms, the Red Sox’s defensive alignment against the Blue Jays is the best it can be.
The ailments are stacking up together to create a real nightmare for Cora, who has a tougher job than if the injuries were more long term. There’s no such thing as a three-day injured list, so players like Bogaerts and outfielder Tommy Pham, who are facing shorter-term injuries, will be active but unavailable to play. Christian Arroyo also jammed his leg sliding into a bag Tuesday and is not in the lineup, possibly unavailable given Cora’s comments about the empty bench.
The Red Sox limp into their Wednesday night showdown against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park with hopes of overcoming the injury bug on their way to a divisional win. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it all on NESN.
